A Flamingo in My Garden
by Deepak Dalal and illustrated by Lavanya Naidu
“A Flamingo in My Garden” by Deepak Dalal and illustrated by Lavanya Naidu. Published by Penguin. A daring and adventurous story of the investigation about the disappearance of Sunglow, the Flamingo from Mumbai aka Baystaan (in bird language) by Longtail, a brave Skybird, from the Rose Garden.
Sunglow is a beautiful rose coloured Flamingo who goes missing from Baystaan aka Mumbai. The Flamingos inhabit the creeks and mudflats of the city. Rumour has it that the seagulls and crows are behind the bird-napping. When Longtail who is a skybird (a police like bird who maintains law and order amongst birds) is summoned for help to find Sunglow, he finds himself duty bound and going towards Baystaan though he did not like it.
Skyglow was last known to be meeting Skull, the brash leader of the Seagulls. Skull and his flock had been troubling the Flamingos for quite some time with their noise even in the night. Skyglow had threatened the gulls that he would fly to Birdpur and report their unacceptable behaviour to the Sky Council. On the day that he was supposed to leave, Skull and his mates called him to talk over the matter. Skyglow believed their words and went thinking that they would listen to him. That was the last time his flock saw him.
Longtail has two prime suspects on his list. Skull the Seagull and S-Crow who is a tough as well as ruthless leader of the Crows who are friends with the Gulls. Where was Sunglow? What had happened to him? How does Longtail solve the mystery and find Sunglow? Read the captivating story in the book narrated by Longtail and Sunglow to the feathered residents and the unusual bird squirrel Shikar from the Rose Garden.
My eight year old and me enjoyed reading this beautiful story. The story gave us a beautiful glimpse into the world of birds especially Flamingoes, Gulls and Crows. It was amusing to read the author’s imagination about what the birds might feel about human habitation. We were amazed by Longtail’s bravery and his sense of duty. The illustrations are amazingly beautiful and seem so real.
This is the second book from the “Feather Tales” series. We have read the first one called “Talon the Falcon” earlier and liked it as well. There are two more books in the series which also seem quite interesting. Each of them have a different bird as a central character around which an interesting plot is woven thereby introducing children to their behaviour. Added to this, the birds residing in Rose Garden (commonly found ones in most places in India) are a delight and will make the children fall in love with them.
Recommended Age
The book is apt for children aged 8 and above.
Reasons to Read
The book is a wonderful means for children to know about the beautiful flamingos and other birds from the Rose Garden which are commonly found across most parts of India.
Where to buy from?
An independent bookstore, Funky Rainbow, from where I buy many of my books.